most accurate copper ML bullet ?

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JeffB1961

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so i've been interested in the federal borelock bullets for a while and i know many folks like the barns solid coppers . i know some of the coppers have a small amount of antimony or something else in them , but i call them coppers for simplicity . i was reading a few threads here this morning about the monoflex ML's and their flowers look very impressive even with only 50 grains pushing them .

anyhow , i'm interested in accuracy at 200 yards and under . my gun is a 2003 cva optima .50 . i realize i'll be the weak link in the accuracy game being new to MLing , but if i do my part ..... or better yet in the hands of a competent shooter ..... is there much accuracy difference between the more popular solid coppers ? or would 300 yards or more be needed to see a notable difference ? and yes im aware that some guns just prefer a particular bullet , but generally speaking which seem to perform best ?

please feel free to discuss other coppers beside the 3 i've mentioned

BTW .....
what are your thoughts on copper vs lead saboted bullets ?
what's your favorite solid copper bullet ?


thanks jeff
 
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For your application i would look at the Monofex but you will need a different sabot. The red 3 petal sabot is made for very tight bores.

For the .452 Monoflex ML bullet you will need to ditch the red sabot and grab a pack of Harvester Black EZ Load sabots (for upto 300gr bullets). That is a known good sabot for newer CVA bores. The Black Crushrib will load a bit easier if your bore is tighter.
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/5480
For the .458 250gr Monoflex you need either the MMP 50x458 orange sabot or the new Harvester 50x458 Crush Rib sabot. The 458 is/was sold in 50 packs for reloading rifles like 45/70 so it wont come with sabots. Its basically the same bullet as the .452
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/25203
https://www.harvestermuzzleloading....-crushed-rib-sabot-for-458-bullet-pack-qty-50
No idea which 50x458 sabot will be better but i would bet on the Harvester. The MMP orange is a bit larger OD than the EZ-Load but either might work ok.
https://mmpsabots.com/store/orange-hph-sabot50-pcs/
 
thanks GM . what is the difference between newer CVA bores vs older . my optima is a 2003 model .
i already have 2 packs of .50 black crush rib i got when i ordered some xtp 250 .

does the .458 flower at lower velocities just like the .452 ?
they would save a few bucks vs the .452s with sabots i cant use that i can put towards sabots i can use .
 
No way of knowing until you try. Crushribs might work fine.

Both the Monoflex are made to expand as the same speeds. Just look at the Hornady data for the 45/70 ammo. Its only rated at 2025fps A 50cal ML can match that speed. I see no reason why it wont work just as well as the ML version.
 
i seen a pic here of the .452 flowering very nicely with only 1 50 grain pellet .

https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/threads/250g-monoflex-50g-blackhorn.27322/
"...... The bullet went through the carpet, plywood, 3 water jugs, and into the fourth water jug where it parked. The front jug had the cap blown off, and it carried part of the jug away with it. The second jug had the top third ripped away. The third jug had a hole in, and a hole out. The fourth jug only had the hole in, and it held the bullet. The fifth, and sixth jug were undamaged . ......"

1659641766587.png

1659641782984.png

sooooo ..... it's safe to assume that the .458 will perform similar at a similar (1 pellet) velocity ?
 
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thanks bama , i have 3 lbs of 777 fffg .
any idea what fps you're getting with that 71 grains pushing the monoflex ?
what sabot are you using with the monoflex ?
 
I’m using a Thompson center black sabot. It was more accurate and easier to load than the red ones that come with it.
That would be very very odd since the red 3 petal is about .500-.501 loaded and the Thompson sabot is either a HPH-12 or HPH-24 which are at least .004 larger loaded OD.
 
I use a .452 250 gr monoflex ditched the red sabot and went with a harvester black or crushed rib over 90 gr of bh-209 and achieved better results out of my CVA Accura MR.
 
Ya. Probably to do with barrel diameter. Each ones a little different. Stick to what works, that's the fun of working up a load.
 
For your application i would look at the Monofex but you will need a different sabot. The red 3 petal sabot is made for very tight bores.

For the .452 Monoflex ML bullet you will need to ditch the red sabot and grab a pack of Harvester Black EZ Load sabots (for upto 300gr bullets). That is a known good sabot for newer CVA bores. The Black Crushrib will load a bit easier if your bore is tighter.
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/5480
For the .458 250gr Monoflex you need either the MMP 50x458 orange sabot or the new Harvester 50x458 Crush Rib sabot. The 458 is/was sold in 50 packs for reloading rifles like 45/70 so it wont come with sabots. Its basically the same bullet as the .452
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/25203
https://www.harvestermuzzleloading....-crushed-rib-sabot-for-458-bullet-pack-qty-50
No idea which 50x458 sabot will be better but i would bet on the Harvester. The MMP orange is a bit larger OD than the EZ-Load but either might work ok.
https://mmpsabots.com/store/orange-hph-sabot50-pcs/
is this the same sabot for the .452 that you recommended above ?

https://muzzle-loaders.com/collecti...shed-rib-sabots-50-cal?variant=41049803456721
 
H5045SB is the correct part #

I linked the wrong one. Either would work though because the Monoflex is about as long as a 325gr FTX.
 
does arrowhead rifles do free shipping ? i found the orange mmp sabots for the .458 there and going through their checkout but stopping at the point where they ask for my card there is no mention of any shipping charge . i think i've seen folks gush over their guns so i'm guessing they're safe to deal with ???

https://www.arrowheadrifles.com/product/mmp-hph-orange-sabot/
 
well , come to find out arrowhead wanted $7 for S&H . wound up being the same price shipped from MMP so i just ordered them from MMP . from midway i ordered 50 monoflex 458's , 24 barns barns TEZ .45 with blue .50 sabots , CVA barrel blaster foaming and the midway drag bag in coyote . not gonna be dragging anything but i've been eyeballing that case for a while and it's on sale for $55.77 and i got free shipping on everything .
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/939171584?pid=316276
thanks again for putting up with me folks , Jeff
 
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